Job 6

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Job spoke next. He said:	1 Then Job answered and said:
2 If only my misery could be weighed, and al my il s be put together on the scales!	2 Ah, could my anguish but be measured and my calamity laid with it in the scales,
3 But they outweigh the sands of the seas: what wonder then if my words are wild?	3 They would now outweigh the sands of the sea! Because of this I speak without restraint.
4 The arrows of Shaddai stick fast in me, my spirit absorbs their poison, God's terrors stand paradedagainst me.	4 For the arrows of the Almighty pierce me, and my spirit drinks in their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
5 Does a wild donkey bray when it has grass, or an ox low when its fodder is within reach?	5 Does the wild ass bray when he has grass? Does the ox low over his fodder?
6 Is not food insipid, eaten without salt, is there any taste in egg-white?	6 Can a thing insipid be eaten without salt? Is there flavor in the white of an egg?
7 But the very things my appetite revolts at are now my diet in sickness.	7 I refuse to touch them; they are loathsome food to me.
8 Will no one hear my prayer, will not God himself grant my hope?	8 Oh, that I might have my request, and that God would grant what I long for:
9 May it please God to crush me, to give his hand free play and do away with me!	9 Even that God would decide to crush me, that he would put forth his hand and cut me off!
10 This thought, at least, would give me comfort (a thril of joy in unrelenting pain), that I never rebel edagainst the Holy One's decrees.	10 Then I should still have consolation and could exult through unremitting pain, because I have not transgressed the commands of the Holy One.
11 But have I the strength to go on waiting? And why be patient, when doomed to such an end?	11 What strength have I that I should endure, and what is my limit that I should be patient?
12 Is mine the strength of stone, is my flesh made of bronze?	12 Have I the strength of stones, or is my flesh of bronze?
13 Can I support myself on nothing? Has not al help deserted me?	13 Have I no helper, and has advice deserted me?
14 Refuse faithful love to your neighbour and you forsake the fear of Shaddai.	14 A friend owes kindness to one in despair, though he have forsaken the fear of the Almighty.
15 Like the torrent, my brothers have proved deceptive, as fleeting torrents they flow:	15 My brethren are undependable as a brook, as watercourses that run dry in the wadies;
16 the ice makes their waters turgid when, above them, the snow melts,	16 Though they may be black with ice, and with snow heaped upon them,
17 but, come the burning summer, they run dry, they vanish in the heat of the sun.	17 Yet once they flow, they cease to be; in the heat, they disappear from their place.
18 Caravans leave the trail to find them, go deep into wastelands, and are lost.	18 Caravans turn aside from their routes; they go into the desert and perish.
19 The caravans of Tema look to them, and on them Sheba's convoys build their hopes.	19 The caravans of Tema search, the companies of Sheba have hopes;
20 Their trust brings only embarrassment, they reach them only to be thwarted.	20 They are disappointed, though they were confident; they come there and are frustrated.
21 And this is how you now treat me, terrified at the sight of me, you take fright.	21 It is thus that you have now become for me; you see a terrifying thing and are afraid.
22 Have I said to you, 'Give me something, make some present for me at your own cost,	22 Have I asked you to give me anything, to offer a gift for me from your possessions,
23 snatch me from the grasp of an oppressor, ransom me from the grip of a violent man'?	23 Or to deliver me from the enemy, or to redeem me from oppressors?
24 Put me right, and I shal say no more; show me where I have been at fault.	24 Teach me, and I will be silent; prove to me wherein I have erred.
25 Fair comment can be borne without resentment, but what are your strictures aimed at?	25 How agreeable are honest words; yet how unconvincing is your argument!
26 Do you think mere words deserve censure, desperate speech that the wind blows away?	26 Do you consider your words as proof, but the sayings of a desperate man as wind?
27 Soon you wil be haggling over the price of an orphan, and sel ing your friend at bargain price!	27 You would even cast lots for the orphan, and would barter away your friend!
28 Come, I beg you, look at me: man to man, I shal not lie.	28 Come, now, give me your attention; surely I will not lie to your face.
29 Relent then, no harm is done; relent then, since I am upright.	29 Think it over; let there be no injustice. Think it over; I still am right.
30 Is evil to be found on my lips? Can I not recognise misfortune when I taste it?	30 Is there insincerity on my tongue, or cannot my taste discern falsehood?